The Presidential Search Committee will begin to interview 20 finalists for the position of university president Tuesday, according to reporting done by The State.
The board will meet at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway to begin interviews. The 20 finalists were selected out of a candidate pool of 50. During a meeting on Nov. 5, the group of 50 was said to be half women and POC.
The meeting is being held in Atlanta “for convenience to the candidates," and the 20 finalists "represent a 'diverse pool of candidates,'" University Spokesperson Jeff Stensland told The State.
This will be the first time the committee performs interviews of candidates. Since its creation in May of this year, members of the committee have met over 30 times with various groups within and outside of USC to gather feedback regarding what kind of president these groups would want.
According to a survey conducted by the committee, the top three personal qualifications wanted by the USC community in a university president is someone who has experienced leading a large, complex organization, has college or university level teaching experience and has experience with budgeting and finance.
The top three issues facing the next president are academic excellence, preventing sexual and interpersonal violence and strategic planning, according to the same survey.
The largest groups of respondents were graduates, with students and staff members being second and third largest, respectively.